Most of the time when Kaede was talking about going to a concert or a performance, she was referring to one that she was performing in herself, that she wanted her dearest boyfriend to come watch her at. There were a few occasions where she talked about going to one as a proud tutor, her students from her coaching lessons being the performers, and those were ones Shuichi wasn't expected to attend if he wasn't already free. But it rarely happened that Kaede's talk about going to a concert was for one that she had zero personal stake in, and so it was quite strange when she came over to Shuichi's apartment with two tickets in hand and a smile on her face.
"One of my students suggested we go to this show, and I didn't see why we couldn't," she explained as she handed him both tickets, him looking at them to see that all they said was admit one – private show. "It's not a huge deal, I guess one of his classmates is performing in her final show before she graduates from the music academy, and there needs to be enough of an informed audience to make the call if she passes or fails."
"That seems like a lot of work for just going to a show," he replied, finding absolutely nothing else on the tickets to indicate what was happening. "But I can't stop you, you'll do whatever you can to make sure a pianist succeeds in life."
Kaede laughed, putting a hand out to support herself using Shuichi's shoulder as he stared at her, confused about what could possibly be so funny. "This isn't a piano recital, it's a violinist's last test before she's allowed to graduate. Haven't you ever wanted to watch someone play solo violin for an audience?"
"I can't say that I have, but if it's what you want to do then if I'm free I'll go with you." Shuichi's taste in music was heavily dictated by whatever Kaede had playing around her, or whatever she was practicing for her own shows, so he wasn't as well-versed in violin music as he was in piano. That wasn't quite as relevant, though, when he realized that the tickets being so bare left out a crucial piece of information. "Er, when, exactly, is this concert?"
"That's the thing, it's on my birthday. Which means you'll be free, I'll be free, and it'll be a lovely time for us both." She had long since stopped laughing, a smile bright across her face, and Shuichi knew that she'd planned this well enough so that she didn't need to ask him for anything for her birthday. He was thankful for her being thoughtful enough to do that, but at the same time he was still going to have to come up with a gift for her that would be acceptable, now that taking her to a show seemed to be off the table. "Come on, Shuichi, don't look so sad about this! You love going to these things with me!"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I do, that's not…" He trailed off, looking at the tickets and thinking about how they were making him work just a bit harder to give his girlfriend the birthday she deserved. "It's going to be great. Wonderful. Amazing, in fact. Thank you for thinking of doing this for us both, I'm excited to see this student's performance."
She wasn't buying his laundry list of adjectives, but she knew that trying to claw his true feelings out of him wasn't going to end well for her. "It's only three weeks away, that's the best part! Usually when I'm going to one of these, I have months to look forward to it, because I'm usually performing and need the time to practice my piece, or to teach the students what they need to know. It's a total change of pace, and I love it!"
"Yeah it's definitely different than how this usually goes," he agreed, still focused on solving the problem that he now had to figure out. Every year he got her something unique for her birthday, but usually it was tickets for a performance with an orchestra and performers who made music as their day job, not students looking to pass their course. It would simply be in bad taste if he got her tickets to something else anyway, and presented those before or after the show they were going to together, and the last thing he wanted to do was offend her by not being thoughtful enough. Whatever he was going to do, he had three weeks to figure it out before he was in the running for being the worst boyfriend ever.
Those three weeks seemed to simply fly by, and in what felt like the blink of an eye Shuichi went from having time to come up with a present to getting ready for the concert the night of Kaede's birthday, not a clue in the world what he was going to do for her. She'd suggested that he dress in nicer clothes, something along the lines of what he wore when he was dealing with people doing his detective work, and that she would meet him at the auditorium on the campus of the music academy, since she'd be going early to talk with the students and staff that were there. Not having to get over there with her meant that he had a small bit of unexpected time to use, but without any ideas of how to use it he was at a loss for what to do.
"What do you get for someone who has just about everything she could ask for?" he asked himself as he stared down his anxious-looking expression in the bathroom mirror, his eyes seeming to shake as he held a gaze with himself. "I've tried finding music, I've considered getting her new clothes, a dinner or a date wouldn't work when this is already what we're doing, she needs something perfect for her." The idea of getting her a ring to take their relationship further had crossed his mind once or twice but he'd decided against it, not wanting to make her birthday about something else other than just her (but he'd take care of that another time, he was certain). So had the idea of planning a trip, or finding somewhere around town that was fancier than either of them could dream of and booking a reservation, but none of that felt right for him to do for Kaede.
Ultimately that meant that he left his house in his nice suit jacket and pressed slacks, shoes shined and hair combed neatly, without any idea in the world as to what he was going to gift his girlfriend with. The one thing that changed between how he left the house and how he arrived at the auditorium was that he stopped at a shop on the way and bought a small bouquet of light pink carnations, which were on sale and looked like she'd like the color. They were by no means a proper gift, but they were something that he could hand off to her and have her hold while she was watching the performance.
When she saw him approaching the building she loudly gasped at the sight of the flowers, but she didn't rush towards him to meet him halfway or anything of the sort. That meant that he got to watch her watching him as he walked, seeing her long, deep pink ballgown that she must have recently gotten because he'd never seen her in it before, with her hair tied up behind her head and held in place partially by a crown of flowers. "Shuichi, you made it!" she called when he was close enough, waving at him with a single gloved hand. "I'm so glad you got here a bit early, means we can get to our seats and I can explain what we're going to be listening to! Are those flowers for me?"
He swallowed down any worries that might have sprung out of his mouth if given the chance and handed off the flowers to her. "Of course they are, s-sweetheart. Happy birthday, by the way." Shuichi couldn't remember if he'd already told her that or not, and he felt bad not remembering, but seeing her light up as she took in a deep breath with the flowers pressed to her face was enough to make him not feel as bad. She was happy in that moment, and as long as he could keep her happy for the rest of the night even without a present to give her, that was what mattered.
Their seats were close to the front of the auditorium, Kaede taking the one closer to the aisle so that she could get up to talk to people as needed. While they sat there, waiting for the other attendees to file in, she made good on her word and explained the concept of the music they were to be listening to. "It's called the Four Seasons, and it's by Vivaldi, and it's a lovely piece that sounds super great when someone plays it on violin, which was what it was written for. It's…kind of fitting that spring just started, and that's the season that it starts with, don't you think?" He didn't know what to do but nod, and she went right on rambling about the history of the music and why the student had selected specifically to play it, and that lasted nearly until people were on stage.
But it didn't last the whole time, because the last few minutes before showtime were spent with some of her students that she tutored coming by to wish her a happy birthday and talk about how excited they were for the night. Shuichi couldn't help but watch how positively thrilled Kaede seemed to be having those conversations, beaming every time someone mentioned it was her birthday, and that only made his feelings towards not having a present for her feel more pronounced. He was the worst boyfriend in the world for letting down a woman so radiant and amazing, and he was going to have to admit to her his wrongdoing sooner rather than later.
He didn't get that chance before the show, and during it was not an option either. When people first came onto the stage it was to introduce what was happening, explaining that this was the last performance for the student before she graduated, provided that she put on a flawless show. The student in question was visibly nervous standing behind their instructor, violin held at the ready, and Shuichi felt a kindred spirit with the girl as he watched her trying her hardest not to lose her composure. When she finally got to take center stage she seemed to relax a bit, but whatever nerves she might have been fighting seemed completely to disappear when she began playing the music.
It wasn't the most refined of performances, it was merely a young girl playing for her career, but the music she produced was nothing short of beautiful. Shuichi could see Kaede, and the audience in front of them, seemingly enthralled with what they were hearing, and even though he wasn't quite as savvy when it came to music he felt it sounded good as well. First came the Spring segment, then Summer, then Autumn, and finally Winter, and he was impressed that the tones of the music seemed to match the season in question, and that was beyond impressive. The concert seemed to last a while, but not as long as some other performances that Kaede had dragged him to in the past, and when it was finished and the applause subsided the teachers were back up front, directing everyone on what they needed to do in order to give the girl her final grade.
"I don't think I'm exactly qualified enough to be impacting her grade," Shuichi said, as the people around them began leaving their seats to fill out the grade forms at the back of the auditorium. "I mean, it sounded nice, but I know nothing of technical stuff when it comes to music, not like you do."
"If one person doesn't give their feedback that'll probably be okay, especially since you don't want to say the wrong thing and have it not be true. I'm not familiar with violin music, but I know enough about how these concertis are supposed to sound that I can definitely say something about it!" Still cradling her flowers in her arms, Kaede looked determined to go give the girl the feedback she needed, but she waited until the crowd had died down so that they could both go together. He stood by idly while she filled out her form, and then after submitting it they both headed out of the building.
There, in the doorway of the auditorium at the musical academy, they looked at each other and how overdressed they were for the occasion and broke out into laughter, Kaede nearly needing to wipe tears from her eyes and Shuichi trying to stifle his own chuckles. "That was really a lovely time," he told her, thinking about how excited she'd been to do this with him, "and I'm glad we got to spend your birthday doing it. But…I have something I need to tell you, and you might not like this."
"Don't worry, Shuichi, anything you have to say can't ruin what we just went through. You being here has made this the best birthday ever!" It was going to be the moment of truth for that statement, and he had to ready himself for a second before he let his words spill out, telling her that he hadn't gotten her any sort of birthday present, outside of his presence there and the flowers. "Oh, that's okay! I'm old enough now to not need all sorts of gifts, you know? As long as I have you, that's all that matters."
"Really? Is that all you want for your birthday?"
"Well, this year I got that and something of my choosing, so…yes, yes that's all I want for my birthday. But I wouldn't be opposed to a kiss." She puckered her lips, looking at him with waiting eyes, and he couldn't help but oblige in her birthday request.
A/N: written for the second happening of the saimatsu gift exchange!